Yobe new HoS promises more engagement with civil servants

The new Head of Service (HoS) for Yobe State Mr. Saleh Abubakar has promised that he will change face of the State Civil Service through frequent engagement with the civil servants in the state.

Mr. Saleh Abubakar who is the immediate past Chief of Staff to Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam told newsmen in his office in Damaturu that the Civil Service needs to operate on a new pedestal which according to him will entail his body language and an injection of new technologies into the system for effective operation.

Mr. Saleh noted that quality man power and personal are his cardinal objective, just as he believes that talking to the civil servant on a personal level very often will allow him feel the real temperature of the problem in the service and address them squarely.

“I am just one among the civil servants in the state. But being the Head of the Civil Service gives me some added responsibility over other so I will have to take the bull by the horn by ensuring that I get the exact temperature of the problems in the system through talking with everybody more.

“I will also engage my permanent secretaries, directors, and heads of other relevant MDAs. That way I can also understand the problems in the service and confront them with the solutions. I intend to run a very open and transparent regime where civil servant will be head,” Mr. Saleh said.

Speaking on indolence, late coming to work and lack of capacity of the civil servant, Mr. Saleh said, “the Civil Servant in Yobe State will not be fair to the government of Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam if they cannot reciprocate what the governor has done for them. In other states, salaries of workers have not been paid for a very long time but the case is very different here.

“To whom much is given, much is expected. I wish to appeal to all civil servants in the state to reciprocate what the governor has done to them. Therefore there should be no excuse as to lateness to work or being lazy at work.

“In the area of capacity building, we will not stop the training and re-training of the civil servants. We will make sure the quality of the personale recruited in the service meet the required standard”, Saleh explained.

On his appointment as the Head of Service, Mr. Saleh said he feels very happy because his appointment is the peak of his career, which he said is the dream of every civil servant.

“Well, like everything in life. My appointment is something new and I see it as a challenge. And I also feel that I have reached the height of the civil service of my career. It is the hope of every permanent secretary to be the head of service just like it’s the hope of every civil servant to reach this height. It’s like you; you can’t be a reporter all your life. Someday you may wish to become an editor or even a publisher. I feel very happy,” Saleh informed.

Speaking on the challenges of his new office and the immediate past office, Mr. Saleh said “ Challenge is what you don’t know. If you know something then it’s no longer a challenge. I have served my bosses diligently and I don’t have cause to do any dirty deal with them because both of them were gentlemen. The late Mamman Ali was straight forward, forthcoming and honest and that also applies to Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam. There is nothing to hide. We did a very transparent job at the government house. There was no time that we had any dirty or murky deal. It was an open operation and I thank God I have worked and served in that position as the Chief of Staff to the best of my knowledge”.

The Nation reports that Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam on April 4th, 2017 appointed Saleh Abubakar as the new Head of Yobe State Civil Service following the exit of the former Head of Service Dauda Yahaya who proceeded on mandatory retirement.